Our Purpose

Whether you realise it or not, you are in the midst of a ‘war of position’. This phrase and some of the rules which govern the conduct of war were first made explicit by Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci had been a Communist opponent of Mussolini who was imprisoned by the fascists. During his imprisonment he formulated many of his ideas and wrote them down in what were to become his Prison Notebooks. Much can be learned from a study of his work.

He put forward the view that the Fascists had come to power because what we would now call the ‘cultural landscape’ was favourable to the development of their political position. We can now take this concept further – the key element in the forthcoming struggle will be a battle for domination of key ‘concept’ areas. We do not intend to lose.

It is necessary for us to predict future developments and invest our energies in ‘fringe’ activities where we judge that the issues will become key ones at a later date. Not only issues but the very language is used to formulate the debate must reflect our thinking. It is in this context that our present work should be viewed. We are playing a long-term game. We are prepared to invest in seemingly unprofitable areas if we feel that this will lead to great returns in the future.

Just as in Chess, early dominance of the central squares is an important aim. In politics the central squares are largely the cultural predilections and prejudices of the population. If we cannot yet produce our own culture (which we shall strive towards) opponents of Capitalism should seek to act as a perceptual filter for the popular culture which surrounds us.